Continuous heater



June 19, 1951 w. D. KMENTT CONTINUOUS HEATER s sheets-sheet 1 Filed April 21, 1948 Zaza.

s sheets-sheet 2 w. D. KMr-:NT-r

CONTINUOUS HEATER June 19, 1951 Filed April 21, 1948 June 19, 1951 w. D. KMENTT CONTINUOUS HEATER 5 Sheds-Sheet 3 Filed April 21, 1948 UUE-nidi Z-/jszzza E Xmez? Patented June 19, 1951 #UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTINUOUS HEATER Waldemar D. Kmentt, Akron, Ohio, assignor to The B. F. Goodrich Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 21, 194s, serial No. 22,424

(C1. lis- 6) 6 Claims.

article.

Where such articles have been enclosed as a group by placing them in autoclaves, pot heaters or open steam vulcanizers, difficulty has been experienced in obtaining uniform treatment of the articles due to uneven distribution of steam. Such group vulcanization has also required the use of vulcanizing trucks for handling the cured and uncured articles, with great consumption of oor space.

Furthermore, the large capacity of the vulcanizing chamber as compared to the volume of goods to be treated has resulted in great waste of steam.

It is an object of the present invention to provide for vulcanizing of a series of articles indviclually and simultaneously by successive loading and unloading of a series of successive treating chambers moving continuously.

Other objects are to provide uniformity of vulcanization, to provide automatic opening and closing of the vulcanizing chambers, to provide automatic control of the heating iiuid, to provide continuous operation, and to provide economy of floor space.

These and other objects Will appear from the -following description and the accompanying drawings.

' Of the drawings,

. Fig. l is an end elevation of apparatus constructed in accordance with and embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof partly taken in section along line 2-2 of Fig. l, parts being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, showing the opposite end of the apparatus. l

Fig 4 is a detail perspective view of a valve and a cam for operating it.

Referring to the drawings, the numerals I 0, I I designate end frame members which are held in spaced-apart relation by a bed plate (not shown) Y vand spacer rods 56. The end frame member I has grooved rollers I2, I3, I4 rotatably mounted thereon for rotatably supporting a flat ring member I5, and frame member II has similar grooved rollers I6, I'I for rotatably supporting a at ring member I8 parallel to ring member I5. Secured at Itheir opposite ends to ring members I5, I8 within 'openings therethrough so as to extend therebeyond are tubular chambers 20. A ring gear 2| is secured about all of the chambers for rotating thering members I5, I8 and their connecting chambers about a horizontal axis. A pinion 22 is xed to a shaft 23 rotatably mounted in a bracket 24. The shaft is driven from any suitable source of power (not shown), and its pinion 22 meshes with gear 2| to drive it.

Mounted on the end frame member is an annular raceway 26, having a T-slot 21 extend- 'ing therealong. Cover plates 28 for closing an end of a chamber are retained in the wide por- "tion of the groove, there being less cover,v plates than chambers. The cover plates are free to roll or slide along the groove except as retained by means hereinafter described and have wear plates 28d secured thereto. A second raceway 29 f similar construction is mounted upon end frame member I I and similar cover plates are mounted therein to close the opposite ends of the chambers.

For retaining the cover plates in the desired `positions in alignment with the chambers, pins 3I are slidably mounted in axially extending openings through the rings I5, I8 and extend between adjacent cover plates. Each pin is pivotally connected to one end of a lever 32, pivotally secured, as at 33 to the ring member. The opposite end of the lever carries a roller 34 engageable with a cam 35 mounted on an end frame member. The arrangement is such that at a position beyond the vertical plane of the axis of rotation, the cam 35 withdraws the pins one at a time throughout an arc of rotation. An opening 36 in the end frame member within such arc permits loading and unloading of the chambers therethrough. The cover plates entering the arc of rotation such as the cover plate 28a are released in succession by withdrawal of the pins, and there being fewer cover plates than chambers, preferably two less, the cover plates roll past the opening under the force of gravitation and assume a position, such as at 28h, opposite a chamber advanced beyond the opening and in contact wtih a preceding pin 3| which locates the cover plate opposite vthe chamber at that position. The pins 3I are returned by the cam 35 due to the shape of the cam as shown in Fig. 2. y

Throughout the arc of rotation supplementary to that between cover plate 28a and 28", the cover plates are held against the chambers in sealed relation thereto and for this purpose a cam surface 40 is provided in the T-slot for slidably engaging the wear plates 28d of the cover plates and holding the cover plates against the ends of the chambers. Gasket means 31 is provided on each cover plate to seal the joint.

For heatingthe chambers, a steam manifold 45 extends along the axis of rotation of the apparatus and has a slip connection 4B to rotatably connect it to a steam supply line 4l. Branch lines 48 connect the manifold to each chamber, and a normally closed throttle valve 50 in each line 48 controls flow therethrough.` A stationary cam 5I is mounted on end frame member I 0 throughout an arc starting at cover plate 28b and extending to 28 for holding the valves open throughout that arc of rotation, permitting them to close at 28. At the opposite end of theV apparatus, a similar arrangement of pipes and valves connects with an exhaust manifold 55 and a similar cani 5'! opens the exhaust valves betweenpositions 28c and 281.

In the operation of the apparatus, the reel comprising the ring members I5, i8 and the tuduring another arc of rotation to permit loading and unloading of said chambers.

2. Apparatus for applying heat to elongate articles, said apparatus comprising a frame, a support mounted thereon for rotation about an axis, said support having open-ended chambers extending parallel to its axis for enclosing articles, means for rotating said support, means for heating said chambers, individual covers for closing the ends of said chambers, annular guide Y means on said frame for conning said covers bular chambers 2G is rotated continuously at a speed corresponding to the desired 'curing cycle. As'each chamber approaches opening 36 at which position the cam 40 ends its covers are released and drop by gravity to the position 28h, where cam 40 starts, permitting removal of a cured article and placing of an uncurecl article in the adjacentv chamber. As the chamber progresses to position 28h, its covers roll into place, are

pressed against the chamber ends by the cam 11.0,vv

the following pin 3i is returned into place by cam 35 to prevent movement of the cover, and the valve 50 connected to the chamber is opened admitting steam to the chamber. At the same time, or shortly thereafter, the exhaust valve to `the same chamberis closed. As the chamber Variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as it is defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for applying heat to elongate a1'- ticles, said apparatus comprising a frame, a support mounted thereon for rotation about an axis, said support having open-ended chambers extending parallel to its axis for enclosing individual articles, means for rotating said support,

means' for heating said chambers, individual covers for closing the ends of said chambers, annular guide' meanson said frame for confining said covers against movement radial of said support v While permitting-movement of said covers with said support during rotation of said support, and cani-controlled locating means for aligning said covers with the ends of said chambers during one arc of rotation of sa-id support'and permitting shifting of saidcovers away from said ends 'ill against movement radial of said support while permitting movement of said covers with said support during rotation of said support, cam means on said guide means for pressing said covers against the ends of said chambers during an arc of rotation of said support, and camcontrolled dowel means for aligning said covers with said chambers throughout such arc of rotation and permitting circumferential shifting of said covers relative to said support to expose the ends of said chambers for loading and unloading during a supplementary arc of rotation of Said support.

3. Apparatus for confining and heating articles, said apparatus comprising a frame, a support rotatable thereon about an axis, open ended heating chambers spaced circumferentially about said support and parallel to its axis, said chambers each having an open end, closure members' independent of said support, a guideway on said frame at one end of said chambers for coniining said closure members for independent movement in a course about said axis adjacent the ends of said chambers, cam-controlled locking means for holding said closure members opposite the ends of said chambers throughout a portion of said course, cam means for engaging said closure members with the open ends of said chambers throughout said portion of the course, said cam means and said locking means permit'- ting independent movement of said closure members along another portion of the course to uncover said chambers for loading and unloading operations, and means for heating said chambers.

4. Apparatus forl applying heat to elongate articles, said apparatus comprising a plurality of tubular chambers movable about a determinate course, said chambers being adapted to receive articles to be heated, removeable covers at the ends of the chambers for closing said chambers, means for advancing said chambers along said course in succession, means'for heating said chambersas they are so advanced, means along said course independent of said chambers for guidingsaid covers along said course, stationary cam meansalong said course, and means movable with said chambers and operablevby contact with said cam means for aligning said cove'rs'incovering relation to the ends of said chambers throughout a portion of said course and releasing them for uncovering said chambers throughout another portion of said course;

5. Apparatus for applying heat to elongate articles, said apparatus comprising a plurality of v tubular chambers, means supportingy said Y chambers for rotation about an axis parallel to the axes of said chambers, said chambers being 'adapted to receive articles to be heated, removchambers about said supporting means in succession, means for heating said chambers as'they are advanced, means along the' course of advance of said chambers independent of said chambers for guiding said covers along said course, stationary cam means along said course, and means movable with said chambers and operable by Contact With said stationary cam means along said course for aligning said covers in covering relation to the ends of said chambers throughout a portion of said course and releasing them for uncovering said chambers throughout another portion of said course.

6, Apparatus for applying heat to elongate articles, said apparatus comprising a plurality of elongate open-ended chambers for enclosing the articles, means for heating said chambers, removeable covers for the ends of said chambers, said covers being gravitationally positionable in covering and uncovering relation to said chambers, means for moving said chambers along a determinate course, stationary means along said course for engaging and guiding said covers, and stop means carried with the chambers and cooperating With said stationary means for aligning said covers against gravitational movement to open and close said chambers as they pass along a portion of said course.

WALDEMAR D. KMENTT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 77,952 Beins l May 19, 1868 1,548,537 MacDonald Aug. 4, 1925 1,647,040 Fritz Oct. 25, 1927 2,027,165 Grubman Jan. '7, 1936 

